Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles
Press Release
On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles (TECO-LA) signed an agreement on Cooperation with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on November 17, 2020. According to the agreement, Taiwan donated US$2 million to the UCLA Foundation to establish and support the “Taiwan in the World” Program in the Asia Pacific Center within the UCLA International Institute. This cooperative program touches on four major education fields of study including “Taiwan in the World Lecture Series,” “Taiwan Studies Translation Initiative,” “Mandarin Chinese Language Teaching Projects” and “Building an Interactive Website and Database for Taiwan Studies.” The two parties expect to further systematize and institutionalize their existing academic cooperation through the aforementioned program and add momentum to the existing cooperation between Taiwan and the United States in higher education and Mandarin Chinese language teaching.
In light of recent development in international education cooperation, Representative Bi-khim Hsiao of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States and Managing Director Ingrid Larson of the American Institute in Taiwan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on International Education Cooperation on December 2, 2020. Through this MOU, Taiwan and the United States will systematically integrate resources of language education and establish an institutional framework to increase the selection of Taiwan’s Mandarin Chinese language teachers to teach in the United States, and encourage American students to study Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the American Institute in Taiwan, Taipei Office also co-announced the official launch of the Taiwan-US Education Initiative on December 3, 2020. Certainly, the MOU on International Education Cooperation is an important part of this initiative.
“The Taiwan in the World program will cover Mandarin Chinese language teaching projects, in pursuit of the international education cooperation goals established by TECO-LA and the Asia Pacific Center,” said Louis M. Huang, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles. “The Taiwan in the World program also focuses on enhancing the status of Taiwan studies in the field of social sciences globally. We hope this program will become a benchmark for Taiwan-U.S. cooperation in higher education and cultivate professional talents with global visions for Taiwan and the United States.”
UCLA is a research university with a worldwide reputation. Over the years, it has cultivated numerous talents for Taiwan, the United States and other parts of the world, and has received support from governments, enterprises and private organizations in many countries to handle many cross-disciplinary research projects. Looking to the future, TECO-LA will work closely with UCLA to further connect related research projects and Taiwan-U.S. Education Initiative in respect of the shared values and interests of both parties that stem from freedom of speech and academic freedom. We hope that it will invigorate interest in Chinese language teaching, learning and Taiwan studies among teachers, students and research institutions across the United States.
